Simultaneous formation of Jupiter and Saturn

New Jupiter and Saturn formation models meet observations

The wealth of observational data about Jupiter and Saturn provides strong constraints to guide our understanding of the formation of giant planets. The size of the core and the total amount of heavy elements in the envelope have been derived from internal structure studies by Saumon & Guillot (2004). The atmospheric abundance of some volatile elements has been measured in situ by the Galileo pr...

Jupiter and Saturn Rotation Periods

Anderson & Schubert (2007, Science, 317, 1384) proposed that Saturn’s rotation period can be ascertained by minimizing the dynamic heights of the 100 mbar isosurface with respect to the geoid; they derived a rotation period of 10h 32m 35s. We investigate the same approach for Jupiter to see if the Jovian rotation period is predicted by minimizing the dynamical heights of its isobaric (1 bar pre...

Interior models of Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune

Interior model calculations of Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune require EOS-data of hydrogen, helium and water in the regime of warm dense matter. In case of Saturn, the pressure in the deep interior rises up to 15 Mbar at 600010000 K and a hydrogen mass fraction of at least 40%. In Jupiter, due to his larger total mass compared to Saturn, the high-pressure region is more extended with pressures up ...

Comparative Evolution of Jupiter and Saturn

We present evolutionary sequences for Jupiter and Saturn, based on new nongray model atmospheres, which take into account the evolution of the solar luminosity and partitioning of dense components to deeper layers. The results are used to set limits on the extent to which possible interior phase separation of hydrogen and helium may have progressed in the two planets. When combined with static ...

Astronomy : R . W . Wood Monochromatic Photography of Jupiter and Saturn